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Arson Anthem's first E.P. (2008).

The forthcoming debut E.P. from Arson Anthem is an extreme assault of hardcore punk from some of the most respected noisemakers in the Southern United States; Mike Williams of sludge pioneers Eyehategod, Phil Anselmo of Pantera and various other metal projects, and the versatile Hank Williams III. In these eight songs, recorded in early 2006 but only now receiving an official release, Anselmo delivers raw and repetitive guitar riffs spurred on by Hank III's relentless drums and Mike's angry hardcore yells, while relative unknown Collin Yeo stands around and pretends anyone can actually hear his bass above the din. The songs are short, sharp and drastically to-the-point, lasting between thirty-five seconds and the mammoth duration of almost two entire minutes.

I'm not the biggest hardcore fan, but I appreciate bands that take it to the extreme, and this is one of the most convincing performances I've heard outside of John Zorn and Yamataka Eye's darker projects. The listener is immediately belted around the head by the all-out screaming, roaring assault of 'Year of the Fork' which later slows down a little, and most songs perform similar limited theatrics throughout their short lifespan. 'Bunker Life' has a dominant lead guitar and 'Wreaked Like Clockwork' opens with a squealed solo, and both are slightly less violent (only comparatively) to allow for their successors to seem even heavier and angrier by comparison. 'Hammer Them Out' and 'The Avoider' are the best tracks here, if you haven't already been frightened away that is, the latter even falling back on distinctly Black Sabbathesque riffs before erupting into a sweary finale.

This is clearly an essential and divinely inspired purchase for the serious hardcore fan, though they clearly need their brain's taste-buds adjusted to some extent if they're going to come down to Earth with the rest of us (oh yeah, like I can talk), but all the same this is a strong collaboration that achieves everything it set out to do and couldn't possibly disappoint. I just prefer my painful listening experiences to have a touch more class and less mindless aggro.